Make Me

At the Liberry

I'm at the library using the computer bays there. I love the library.  Can't believe there are people who don't take advantage of their local libraries.  Mine is regularly used by all ages. Has a few computers. Semi-friendly staff. Good selection of books. 

Thought I'd pop in today and look up some stuff. And I still have 22 minutes left on my hour of computer time. Wahoo! 

I didn't mention I'd subscribed to Craft magazine over Christmas. My little gift to me. I haven't gotten my first copy yet, but word on the street is either they are stopping production or they are combining their two mags - Make and Craft. My limited computer time does not give the necessary time to suss out the truth.  What's the word? Figures that I finally make the decision to get the mag and it folds.

Well, that's all for today. The announcement was just made that the library is closing and all computers will be turned off in 5 minutes. Don't want to lose these fine pearls.

Pounds

I've been absent these past few days/weeks because not only have I been recuperating, I've been researching. I've been enrolled in a weight loss study for the last 12 weeks and have lost 16 pounds and have another 12 weeks to go. At the end of the 24 weeks though, I'm on my own again, so I don't want to go back to where I was, so I'm looking into option that will fit into my life and still allow me to live and lose weight.

If you watch BBC America at all you may have seen a show called You Are What You Eat with Gillian McKeith. It's a half hour show where a chubby, bad eating man or woman who agrees to eat the prescribed diet for 8 weeks and, voila! Happy, healthy 2-3 stone lost in 2 months.

The show is not without sensationalist elements. The show opens with the fatty in question in their skivvies, looking their worst and ends with a complete makeover. Apparently only the worst eaters in the UK are selected because a table of the week's food is laid out for all to see and it's always full of takeout, sodas and desserts - nary a fruit or a vegetable, even when people are feeding their families. Then McKeith analyzes a "poo sample" which, thankfully, is not shown on television. New healthy foods are introduced and the struggle to adapt to the new regime is the rest of the show.

What intrigued me is that each person seemed to get an individualized program. Some got an 8-week vegetarian diet while others got some fish. So I ordered the You Are What You Eat book from Amazon so I could check it out.

Basically, it's food combining. People who support food combining believe that certain foods move through the body at different speeds - fruits with their high water content move through your system faster that proteins, so you should eat fruits on an empty stomach. I don't know if it's really true or not, but I do definitely like one aspect of the plan - no measuring, counting or any limits on a lot of foods. No eating 14 blueberries or 3 carrot sticks. The bad thing is no dairy. Like no cheese.

So, I've been kind of fiddling around with the principles of the plan - less sugar, more whole grains, less meat and pasta. I definitely feel better. And since I cut down on the dairy I don't have that congested feel quite so much anymore.

Getting Well

There should be photos.  There should be stories. There should be lots and lots of things.  Unfortunately there's nothing. Two weeks of nothing.  I did nothing. Nothing but cough and hack, snort and sneeze.  Nothing crafty. Nothing knitty. No cool little project to share.

Now I'm trying to get back into the swing of things at work and figure out how to stay awake for more than an hour at a time. Which is hard to do without the siren call of television - I've watched many an episode of Monk and You Are What You Eat these past two weeks. I love a TV marathon.

We did manage to get some things done.  My mom, uncle and I made gumbo.  I tastes kind of weird to me still though.  I also made some butternut squash soup. Ditto on the tasting weird.  Everything tastes weird to me except Campbell's chicken noodle.  I made an apple crisp, which for me is like nothing, and I could smell it, so I could tell if it was good or not.  Weird how much you rely on your sense of smell when you cook.

We do have a winner for the Hair Pin challenge.  I want to make sure I have all the photos posted on Flickr first before announcing. I've been kind of lame on that.  I meant to do it last night, but I fell asleep while eating dinner.  Yeah. While. Eating. Dinner. 

I do hope you had a nice new year celebration.  I'm looking forward to sharing my artsy resolutions with you later in the week.  I have fun plans for later challenges - the next one will be announced at the end of the month. Wait for it...wait for it...wait for it....

Sick as a Dog?

I hope you all have had a lovely Christmas. I believe I might have, if it weren't for the hacking, sneezing, congestion and phlegm.  I've been sick since Christmas day.  Sick as a dog, as the saying goes.  Although, I'm not sure where that saying comes from as the dog always seems quite hale and hearty even when he's down.  I've not been able to muster the ability to turn off the TV and so can now tell you more than you need to know about several infomercials.  Can I interest you in a Kodak camera?

Speaking of which, that's what I got my mom for Christmas.  I thought it was a good deal. A point, shoot, plug in, download kind of thing. Totally forgot she had an HP camera thingy she bought off of HSN.  Yes, I know this is the second story like this.  I don't know - maybe my brain is just choosing to let go of certain details in the interest of making my life "easier" and less cumbersome.  Besides, this camera is probably the slightly easier model to work.

Anyway, back to me.  I went to Urgent Care yesterday because I started having nightmares about getting strep throat.  Turns out I have a "viral cold." What the heck is a viral cold?  Yeah, normal people woulda asked that question at the doctor's office, but what heard there was, "blah, blah, blah, not strep throat, blah, blah, blah" and then I was happy because I didn't tell them I was allergic to penicillin, because, well, they don't need to know all my business...(I was probably feverish). Then we had to get sudafed that wasn't red cuz I'm allergic to red dye (and, ironically enough, sudafed is just how I found that little piece of trivia out). So this is why I don't know what a viral cold is.

This here is more thinking than I've done in the past week combined.  Brain hurts. Must needs go rest now. 

PS - Celeste? I'm on my way to check out your posting problem!

Refinement & Ease

You should see me y'all! I am so on the ball, it's scary.  I've been clearing out the crap from the house and working on projects nearly every night. I've been stocking the Bean, even if I'm only listing one thing a night.  Tonight I cleared off the dining table so I can spend next week on stationery and cards.  I've knit four more little pouches this week and will stitch them up tomorrow at coffee.

I also purchased a Wonder Wash and did my first load of laundry last night.  I'm happy with how it works, although it's large enough to take up quite a bit of the tub and I'll have to find a good place to store it.  I'm planning on draining the rinse water for watering the plants.  I think I will get the spin dryer next month. I'm feeling all self-sustain-y right now, so I hope you'll pardon my smugness.

I'll have to post photos another day, my camera battery didn't charge up properly. That kind of put a damper on my Etsy schedule because I was supposed to come home and photograph the hats. I also got some Etsy goodness in the mail today and I'll have to share that later, too.  Now the schedule says it's time for bed.

'Night!

I Love SD!

Well a week in the Arizona sun had me kissing the ground of San Diego upon my return.  Actually, the first couple of days were only slightly miserable weather-wise at 103 degrees.  Later, when it was 107º, I thought my brain was going to melt and ooze out my ears. Even the pool was too hot because the part of you that wasn't in the water baked in the sun. And let me tell you, if you need proof that the sun is a dominatrix that will beat you till you don't even know you're being beaten anymore, go sit poolside in Scottsdale. Gives "leatherneck" a whole new meaning.

Still, it was great being with family and I had a lot of fun. 

I also finished my Kiri Shawl in time to get my Ravelympics medal in the Shawl Relay. 
I haven't blocked it yet and I was too tired to get a better photo, but I put a snazzy frame around it with Picasa, so that should make up for the photo quality.

The garden fared relatively well in my absence.  I hoisted all the plants to Priscilla's because as it got warmer, they really did need watering twice a day.   The lemon verbena and lettuce planter took a header in the parking lot.  And that lettuce was about three weeks from eating, too! I tried to stick the verbena back in the planter but it looks like it gave up the ghost a shortly after.

Ella Eggplanted was marvelous. We enjoyed her in a scrumptious omelet. The tomatoes were heaven and the basil to die for.  Although Mom said it tasted "bitter" I thought it was sweet like candy.

I did a lot of cooking during the week. It was fun because I don't really cook for myself too much in the summer because my place gets so hot so quickly.  Meals for 8 are a lot of work!  If you have a large family to cook for every night, my hat is off to you.

Some really good news is the Kathie I always refer to now has a blog!  Yay. Go visit and encourage her to make stuff - she makes awesome books and gourds and jewelry and everything.

Bandwagoning It Again

I stole this from Stacey cuz I don't have much to say today and haven't taken any photos of the stuff I need to post about.

1. Flicker :: horse (i know its "flicka")
2. Styling :: hair
3. Episode :: 1: the Phantom Menace (I am watching live coverage of Comicon...)
4. Sexier :: Benjamin Bratt (hey! this one surprised me too - maybe its because he looks kinda scruffy on his new show.)
5. Studious :: no fun
6. Mushroom :: cloud
7. 8 minutes :: 8 Mile
8. Bald :: sexy
9. Immunity :: Survivor
10. Sectioned :: Grapefruit

What's funny is I didn't really look at her answers until I had completed mine.

Since I have my new Shuffle I've been listening to podcasts as I ride the bus to work in the morning. I've located some really cool crafty ones so I thought I'd share:

Craft Sanity

Craftcast

The Crafty Pod

Also am loving Librivox even though some of the readers are a little less than, um, animated. It's still fun.

How You Doin?

Okay, things are bound to improve. The car goes in to the shop on Monday. When I get it back a week later all will be well.  The Raverend Al Green will be restored to his former glory.  And maybe those scratches will be buffed out.

Until then I plan to throw myself into a zen state with knitting and gardening.  What?! Yes, you heard right - gardening.
See! Proof! And these babies have been with me for nearly a month. And. They. Aren't. Dead. 

I got a wild hare (hair?) one day to grow some herbs so down I went to the local gardening center and $45 later I owned some plants. Live plants. I replanted them and they are still alive! High five me, somebody!

From left to right we have lemon cucumber (don't worry, I'll replant them as soon as the tomatoes give up the ghost), golden thyme, pineapple mint and purple basil.  The thyme got dwarfed really quickly by the cukes, which has doubled in size and the mint which is sprawling. I've used the basil and it's quite tasty.  I will be making some tea with the mint soon. 

I feel all Green Acres and farmer-y.  So much so, I'm tossing in another photo.

I've started a new knitting project (because starting is, after all, the mostest fun.) It's an EZ Baby Surprise Jacket. I love the color - it's Lorna's Laces Worsted. It's so soft and lofty it's like knitting with 2 day old puppies.

The pattern takes some getting used to - it's my first Elizabeth Zimmerman. This wonky shape somehow flips and twists into a baby sweater.  I've checked it out on Ravelry and others have gotten a sweater out of it, so I will just keep pressing on.

One interesting thing - is the colors were looking really pool-y so I started slipping the first stitch and the pooling went away! One little change=one big difference. 
This is actually the third time I've started the BSJ. The first two I really misinterpreted the directions. I could hear EZ slapping her hand against her forehead and saying, "just pay attention, girly!" Third time's the charm.

Went to lunch with Kathie today and she gave me wonderful prezzies!  First this Penny Michelle bracelet. Can you see that it says "just one more row"? Love, love, love! I've worn it all day and it's super comfy.

Also received two great books.  One Skein Wonders is really great. A few weeks back I bought the 101 Designer One Skein Wonders because I always need fast and easy projects but I don't want them to look fast & easy (that's my job!)  And Knitting Never Felt Better is one of those books I always wanted but never bought for myself.  I love Nicky Epstein's books because they're so well put together and easy to refer to.

Anyway, Yay Me!  And Thanks, Kathie!

Not a Good Car Year

First of all, I found my pattern book - yay!  It was where it should have been if I were organized ALL the time: In the basket with my knitting needles.  However, since I am only organized 1/4 of the time, I looked between the sofa cushions, under the bed, in the refrigerator all before it occurred to me to look in a normal place.

Last Thursday I rear-ended someone and thought my car was okay. Now I find I mooshed my radiator and ruined my condenser.  I really should give up the car now while I'm ahead.  The preliminary estimate is $2600.  That is seriously harshing my mellow.  I wonder if the short bus takes a trip by my house....

On the knitting front, I've started knitting on Wednesdays at Lori's again.  Such fun. I love the new store - it's cozy and everything is displayed so nicely.  I think I'll only be going out every other week because gas ain't cheap and I got a $500 deductible.  But it's nice to get out to Alpine, have a little vino and fondle the new yarn.

Urgh!

I can't find my pattern book.  I've been looking for 2 weeks.  It should be in the house somewhere because I don't recall taking it out anywhere public.  I thought it had fallen in between the cushions of the couch but I just looked there today and no go. 

The loss has sort of stopped me.  If I'm working on my own pattern that is where I keep my notes, but if I'm working on a commercial pattern that where I note any adjustments.  Where's that St Anthony Kathie gave me?  Losing St Anthony.  That's probably not a good sign, huh?